CHAPTER 1
Verse 1 — Salutation
The writer introduces himself as “James a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” We see a wonderful change in the life of James. At one time, he had not believed in Jesus; John 7:5 says, “For even his own brothers did not believe in him.” He may have even shared the view that Jesus was out of His mind (Mark 3:21).
But as Jesus sowed the seed of His word and taught the great message of the Kingdom of God, the seed took root in the life of James. This was a great transformation. The sceptic became a servant. And he was not ashamed to say so! By calling himself “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,” James correctly put God and the Lord Jesus on the same level as equals. He honoured the Son just as he honoured the Father. John 5:23 says, “That all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. He who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him.”
James knew that “no man can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24) yet he spoke of himself as a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus. There is no contradiction here because God the Father and God the Son are co-equal.
The letter is addressed to “the twelve tribes” – to Jews by birth, belonging to the twelve tribes of Israel. Because of sin, these people had been driven out of their native land and were dispersed in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean sea. The original dispersion took place when they were carried into captivity by the Assyrians in 721 B.C.
Verses 2-17 — Trials and Temptations
In verses 2-12, the trials referred to are what we might call holy trials or problems that are sent from God, or that God allows and that test the reality of our faith and produce likeness to Christ. In verses 13-17, on the other hand, the subject is unholy temptation, which comes from within and which leads to sin. The Christian life is filled with problems. They come uninvited and unexpected. Sometimes they come one at a time and sometimes in droves.
James does not say “if you fall into various trials” but whenever. We can never get away from them. The question is, what are we going to do about them?
There are several possible attitudes we can take toward these trials and tests of life. We can rebel against them (Hebrews 12:5) by adopting a spirit of defiance, boasting that we will battle through to victory by our own power. Or we can lose heart or give up under pressure (Hebrews 12:5). This is nothing but fatalism. It leads to questioning even the Lord’s care for us.
We can grumble and complain about our troubles. This is what Paul warns us against in 1 Corinthians 10:10. Or we can indulge in self-pity, thinking of no one but ourselves, and trying to get sympathy from others.
A much better choice is to be exercised by the difficulties and perplexities of life (Hebrews 12:11). We can say, in effect, “God has allowed this trial to come to me. He has some good purpose in it for me. I don’t know what that purpose is, but I’ll try to find out. I want His purpose to be worked out in my life.” This is what James advocates: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Don’t rebel, don’t lose heart. Rejoice!
In verse 3, James speaks of “the testing of your faith.” He pictures faith as a precious metal that is being tried by the assayer (God) to see if it is genuine. The metal is subjected to the fires of persecution, sickness, suffering or sorrow. Without problems, we would never develop endurance.
Verse 4 tells us that “perseverance must finish its work”. Perseverance here denotes endurance. Sometime, when problems come, we become desperate and use frantic means to cut short the trial. Without consulting the Lord as to His purposes in the matter, we rush to shorten the trial. By doing this, we actually may be interfering with God’s will in our lives. And it is possible that we may have to undergo a longer trial in the future before His particular purpose is realized in us. When we face problems in life that God obviously isn’t going to remove, we should be submissive to His will.
Verse 5 assures us that we don’t have to face the problems of life in our own wisdom. If, in the time of trial, we lack spiritual insight, we should go to God and tell Him all about our perplexity and ignorance. We all lack wisdom. The Bible does not give specific answers to the innumerable problems that arise in life. It does not solve problems in so many words, but God’s Word does give us general principles. We must apply these principles to problems as they arise day by day. That is why we need wisdom. Spiritual wisdom is the practical application of our Lord’s teachings to everyday situations.
Verses 6-8
We must approach God in faith, without doubting. We must believe that He loves and cares and that nothing is impossible with Him. If we doubt His goodness and His power, we will have no stability in times of trouble. One minute we might be resting calmly on His promises and the next we feel that God has forgotten us. We are like the surge of the sea, rising to great heights, then falling back into valleys, troubled and tossed.
In verses 5-8, the source of wisdom is identified as God. This wisdom is obtained by prayer, it is available to everybody, and it is given liberally; the important condition is that we ask in faith, without doubting.
Verses 9-11
At first glance, verses 9 to 11 seem to introduce a completely new subject, or at least a parentheses. Actually, James is continuing with the subject of holy trials by giving specific illustrations. Whether a person is poor or rich, he can receive lasting spiritual benefits from the trials and crises of life. The Christian attitude is to accept from God the things we cannot change, and we should make the most of them for His glory and for the blessing of others. We should say with Apostle Paul, “By the grace of God I am what I am.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)
As we forget our disabilities and lose ourselves in service for others, we will come to realize that spiritual people love us for who we are and not for our appearances.
Note that James addresses the rich but he does not say, “Let the rich man rejoice in his riches.” Rather he says that the rich can rejoice in his low position. He agrees with Jeremiah: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24)
The point is that any trial that takes us away from the love of possessing things and sets our affections on things that are spiritual and of above is a blessing in disguise.
Verse 12
James concludes his discussion of holy trials. He gives a blessing on the person who stands up under afflictions. When such a person “has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life.”
Now let us make this part of our study on holy trials practical in our own lives. How do we react when various forms of testing come into our lives? Do we complain bitterly against the misfortunes of life, or do we rejoice and thank God for them? Do we advertise our trials or do we bear them quietly? Do we live in the future, waiting for our circumstances to change and improve, or do we live in the present, seeking to see the hand of God in all that comes to us? Do we indulge in self-pity and seek sympathy or do we get ourselves in a life of service for God and others?
Verses 13-17
The subject now switches to unholy temptations. Just as holy trials, or trials in general, bring out the best in us, unholy temptations bring out the worst in us when we give in to them. We must clearly understand that temptation does not come from God – ever!
God allows trials to come our way but He never tempts us to commit any form of evil. God Himself has no dealings with evil and does not entice us to sin. Man is always ready to shift responsibility for his sins; if he cannot blame God, he will adopt modern psychology, which says that sin is a sickness. Thus, he hopes to escape God’s judgment. But sin is not a sickness; it is moral failure for which man must be accountable.
Some will try to blame material things for sin, but “things” are not sinful in themselves. Sin does not originate in things. James points to the source when he says, “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed” (verse 14). Sin comes from within us, from our old, evil, fallen, and unregenerate nature. Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” (Matthew 15:19) The word “desire” in verse 14 could refer to any form of desire, good or evil. The word itself is morally neutral. With a few exceptions, it is used in the New Testament to describe evil desires and that is the case here, too.
Every one of us is tempted; our lusts and impure appetites constantly urge us to sin. Are we helpless victims when we are dragged away by our own evil desires and enticed? No! We may reject all those sinful thoughts from our mind and concentrate on subjects that are pure and holy (Philippians 4:8). Also, in moments of fierce temptation, we may call on the name of the Lord, remembering that “the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10)
Verse 15
If that is so, why do we sin? Here is the answer: “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.” Instead of rejecting the bad thought, we may encourage, nourish and enjoy it. To put it another way, if we think about a forbidden act long enough, we may eventually commit it. The whole process of lust conceiving and bringing forth sin is clearly illustrated in the incident of David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:1-27).
“And sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death,” said James. Sin produces death. Sin is not a barren and sterile thing; it gives birth to a new generation of sins. The sin of Adam brought physical death on himself and on all his descendants (Genesis 2:17). Sin also leads to eternal, spiritual death – the final separation of man from God and His blessings (Romans 6:23a).
It is not unusual for people who fall into sin to blame God. By doing this they say to their Creator: “Why have you made me this way?” But this is a form of self-deception; only good things come from God. In fact, He is the source of “every good and perfect gift” (verse 7). James describes God as “the Father of heavenly lights.” In the Bible, the word Father sometimes means Creator or Source (Job 38:28). Therefore, God is the Creator or Source of lights. Lights includes the heavenly bodies (the sun, moon, and stars (Genesis 1:14-18, Psalm 136:7)). But God is also the Source of all spiritual light. In fact, He is the Source of every form the light in the universe. “Who does not change like shifting shadows”… God is not like the heavenly bodies He has created. They are undergoing constant changes. He never does. There are no variables in Him. It is unthinkable that He would ever tempt someone to sin. Temptations come from man’s own evil nature.
Let’s test our faith on the subject of unholy temptation. Do we encourage evil thoughts to linger in our minds, or do we get rid of them quickly? When we sin, do we say that we couldn’t help it? Do we blame God when we are tempted to sin?
Verses 18-27
James has been speaking of God as the Father of lights; now he reminds us that He is our Father also, and that He has given us a unique role in his vast creation. We can fulfill that role through obedience to the word of truth.
Verse 18 outlines the part the Word of God plays in the new birth. We are told that “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.” He was not forced to do it by any merit in us. He did it of His own will. His love for us was unmerited – we did not deserve it. It was entirely voluntary on His part. This should cause us to worship Him! “He gave us birth” describes the fact of the new birth. By this spiritual birth we become His children.
“Through the word of truth” – the Bible is the instrument of the new birth. Every time there is a genuine conversion, the Scriptures are involved, whether orally or in printed form. Without the Bible, we would not know the way of salvation.
We would not even know that salvation was available!
“That we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created” – The Christians to whom James was writing were among the first believers. Of course, all believers are “a kind of first fruits” of His creatures, but the primary reference here is to the Jewish Christians to whom James wrote. Though the verse refers primarily to first-century Christians, it applies to each one of us who honours the name of Jesus Christ.
The rest of the chapter gives practical instructions about how we can be first fruits of His creatures. It talks about the practical righteousness that should characterize those who have been born again by the Word of Truth. For example, “we should be quick to listen.” This is an unusual command, with almost a trace of humour in it. It’s like saying, “Hurry up and listen!” What it means, though, is that we should be ready to hear the Word of God, as well as all godly counsel and admonition. We should be teachable by the Holy Spirit.
We should be “slow to speak.” It’s surprising how much James says about our speech! He cautions us to be guarded in our conversations. Even our body teaches us this. We have one tongue, but two ears, that we may hear from others twice as much as we speak. Solomon once said, “He who guards his mouth guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.” (Proverbs 13:3) He also said, “When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” (Proverbs 10:19) Compulsive talkers eventually sin.
We should be “slow to become angry.” A person who is quick tempered “does not bring about righteous life that God desire.” (vs. 20) Those who lose their temper give people a wrong impression about Christianity. “Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.” (Proverbs 16:32)
Verses 23-24
Anyone who hears the Word but does not change his behaviour is like a man who takes a quick glance in the mirror and than forgets what he saw. There is no benefit for him to look into the mirror. Of course, there are some things about our appearance that cannot be changed, but we should pay attention to the sight! When the mirror says “wash”, “shave”, “comb”, or “brush”, we should do as we are told. Otherwise there is no advantage to looking into the mirror.
If we read the Bible casually or out of a sense of duty, it is like seeing what we ought to see but quickly forgetting and living as if we were perfect. This type of self-satisfaction prevents spiritual growth and progress.
Verse 25
In contrast is the man who looks into the Word of God and does as he is told; to him the Bible is the perfect law that gives freedom. As he obeys, he finds true freedom from human traditions and carnal reasoning. The truth sets him free. This is the man who benefits from the Bible. He does not forget what he has read. Rather, he wants to live it out in daily practice. His simple childlike obedience brings many blessings to his soul. “He will be blessed in what he does.”
Verse 26-27
Worthless religion and pure, faultless religion are contrasted. Religion here means the external patterns of behaviour connected with religious belief; the outward form rather than the inward spirit; the outer expression of belief in worship and service rather that the biblical truths and doctrines we believe.
Anyone who thinks he is religious but cannot control his tongue deceives himself and his religion is useless. He may be observing all kinds of religious activities and ceremonies that make him appear very pious and religious, but he is deceiving himself. God is not satisfied with rituals; He is interested in a life of practical godliness. An uncontrolled tongue is only one example of empty religion.
Any behaviour inconsistent with Christian faith is worthless. The story of a religious grocer is a good example. The grocer lived in an apartment above his store. Every morning he would call down to his assistant, “John!” “Yes, sir.” “Have you watered down the milk?” “Yes, sir.” “Have you coloured the butter?” “Yes, sir.” “Have you put chicory in the coffee?”
“Yes, sir.” “Very well. Come up for morning devotions.”
James says that such religion is worthless. What God looks for is the practical type of godliness that takes a compassionate interest in others and keeps his own life clean. And James gives examples of pure and undefiled religion in the person who visits needy orphans and widows, and who keeps himself from being polluted by the world. In other words, the practical outworking of the new birth is found in acts of grace and a walk of separation. These are virtues of practical love and holiness.
We should put our own faith on trial with the following questions: Do I read the Bible with a humble desire to have God speak to me, teach me, and change me? Am I eager to have my tongue controlled? Do I justify my temper or do I want victory over it? How do I react when someone starts to tell an off-colour joke? Does my faith manifest itself in deeds of kindness to those who cannot repay me?